Clinical course of acute laryngeal trauma and associated effects on phonation

We report the clinical course of blunt laryngeal trauma in three young pati ents. All three patients underwent several phoniatric examinations as well as indirect microlaryngoscopy and microstroboscopy. The follow-up period ra nged from three to eight months. In the first case, there was isolated haem orrhage of the left vocal fold, in the second, dislocation of the arytenoid cartilage with formation of an adhesion in the area of the anterior commis sure, and, in the third, non-dislocated fracture of the thyroid cartilage w ith development of haematoma in the right hemilarynx and transient vocal fo ld paralysis. One patient required surgical treatment: however, repositioni ng of the arytenoid cartilage, attempted seven weeks following the injury, proved unsuccessful. In conclusion, all three patients showed significant limitation of vocal fo ld vibration many months after trauma which was unrelated to the extent of resulting tissue damage. In all three cases, patients developed secondary p osttraumatic functional dysphonia requiring treatment.